


Helpless

by SpacePigeons123



Category: The Pacific (TV)
Genre: Angst, Comfort/Angst, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, Light Angst, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, joe mazzello - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:06:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23673556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpacePigeons123/pseuds/SpacePigeons123
Summary: Rose Hughes was never in a hurry for romance. She was happy to be single and wait for the right person. After meeting Eugene Sledge at a ball to celebrate everyone coming home from the war, she thinks she may have found that person.
Relationships: Eugene Sledge/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Mobile, Alabama 1946**

The war was finally over. By now just about everyone had calmed down and was trying their best to return to the normal ways of life. However, after everything was over there was still a mess to clean up which meant an even longer wait for some families to see their sons and husbands. 

Rose Hughes and the rest of her family had been one of these unfortunate families. Her brother, Eric, had enlisted as a marine. He then had been stationed to stay behind and help after victory had been declared. But he was finally back home and to celebrate they would be going to the ball being held that night. Rose and her sister, Maria were getting ready in their shared room. Rose was sitting in front of their vanity doing her makeup while her sister was getting dressed.

“Hey, if you want, you can hang out with me and Charlie while we’re there, y’know since you don’t have a date,” Maria said. She was referring to her and her boyfriend Charles, also known as Charlie. He was a nice guy. Rose was pleased that Maria seemed happy with him. But while spending time with her sister was great and all, Rose wasn’t exactly interested in being a third wheel for the whole evening. 

“No thanks,” Rose replied. “I think I’ll just mingle a little.” 

Maria shrugged and went back to getting ready, content to let her younger sister do her own thing. Rose thought about what her sister said about not having a date. It wasn’t abnormal for Rose. She’d never had a boyfriend and rarely went on dates with anyone. The last real “date” she could remember was when she was about sixteen and the boy she was with tried to kiss her but nearly cut her lip on his braces. She grimaced at the awkward memory. 

Rose wasn’t particularly bothered being single. But she had to admit, she felt a little pang of loneliness whenever she saw how happy her sister was with Charlie or her parents who were still so in love after all their years together. Rose, as she always did, pushed those thoughts aside to finish her makeup. After applying a shade of red to her lips that she was satisfied with, she got up from the vanity to put on her shoes so her sister could do her makeup next. 

When they were done getting ready, they headed down stairs to meet their parents.

“Oh, don’t you girls just look so lovely!” their mother exclaimed when she saw them.

The sisters smiled and hugged their mom before Maria explained that Charlie would be picking her up. Once he arrived to take Maria, everyone else piled into the family’s car to go to the ball. 

“So Rose, honey,” her mom started. “Are you gonna meet your date when we get there?”

“No, I don’t have one,” Rose replied, starting to feel a little cramped in the small car due to the question. Rose loved her mom to death but she seemed so insistent on getting her to find a boyfriend.

“Well, you need someone you’re gonna dance with all night, don’t you?” Her mom retorted playfully.

“C’mon, mama, you know I don’t care for that sorta thing,” Rose said with a laugh to hide how uncomfortable she felt.

“Yeah, she hasn’t bothered going out with anyone since… Who was it? Tommy from junior year?” her brother teased. She pinched him to make him shut up.

After arriving to the dance, everyone in the family split off in different directions to dance, talk to friends, and gossip with neighbors. Rose spent some time walking around and catching up with friends and more relatives before settling by the punch bowl somewhere around the middle of the giant room. Eric walked over to get something to drink.

“So, no luck finding a partner?” he asked as he grabbed a glass to fill, once again trying to provoke his hard headed sibling.

“Eric, you heard me in the car. I don’t care about-”

Her brother cut her off as he noticed someone across the room. He grabbed her by the arm and started walking before she could even notice who he saw. When they finally reached the mystery person he stopped and she yanked her arm back from him.

“Geez! You didn’t have to pull me so hard,” she said, looking at her brother indignantly. However, he was already talking to the stranger.

“Rose I wanted to introduce you to my buddy Eugene Sledge,” he said. “I met him at boot camp, one of the best men I knew there. Eugene, this is Rose Hughes, my sister.”

She felt her cheeks heat up as she finally looked up and caught sight of the apparently _very_ handsome man standing in front of her. He had dark eyes and ginger hair that fell in a neat fringe across his forehead. Her brother nudged her and she remembered she was supposed to reply.

“Oh! Um, hi,” she started. “Thank you for all of your service.”

“If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it,” Eugene replied with a smile. Normally he wasn’t so bold when talking to a lady but he just found her too pretty to resist a flirtatious remark.

She blushed harder at the comment and started to stutter out a reply before her brother cut in and saved her from further embarrassment. Or at least she thought.

“I’ll leave you guys to it,” he said before turning and walking away. She could have sworn she heard him laughing to himself as he left her to fend for herself. 

What she didn’t notice was as she was watching her brother walk away, Eugene was watching her. He may have only just met her but he could’ve sworn he’d never seen someone so beautiful. Her soft green eyes and messy brown curls had him enraptured as soon as he looked at her for the first time. He knew right away that the night was going to go differently than both of them had expected.


	2. Chapter 2

“Sorry about him,” Rose told Eugene as she looked away from her brother. “He’s a pain.” She’d turned around just in time to miss Eugene admiring the way her blue dress twirled just above her knees.

“Oh, don’t worry. I got used to him in boot camp,” Eugene laughed.

“So, you been enjoying the party?” Rose asked. “I don’t think I‘ve seen you on the dance floor at all.”

“I’m not much of a dancer,” he said, now looking a little sheepish.

“Me neither, but hey if you need a partner tonight, I’m available,” she said with a wink.

It was Eugene’s turn to be flustered. His eyes went wide at her action and his face flushed slightly.

“Uh, t-thanks. I’ll keep that in mind,” he stammered. 

Rose smiled, seeing that she’d caught him off guard just as much as he had with her before. She was about to say something else but she noticed her sister across the room trying to wave her over. 

“I’m sorry. My sister…” she gestured to her.

“Oh, of course,” Eugene replied. “I’ll see you around?”

“Absolutely, you owe me a dance” Rose said. She waved bye to him and hurried over to her sister.

When she reached her, Maria had a knowing smirk on her lips.

“Who’s the guy?” she asked.

“Just a buddy of Eric’s he introduced me to.” Maria raised her eyebrows. “Shut up,” Rose said. Her sister puts her hands up defensively.

“I didn’t say anything,” she insisted. 

“You were going to.”

Maria ignored her sister’s defensive comment and continued.

“He’s cute,” Maria said.

“And you have a boyfriend,” Rose countered.

“I didn’t mean for me. I was talking about you,” her sister explained. “I could see you practically salivating over him from across the room.” She laughed as she saw the embarrassment cross Rose’s face.

“I was not ‘salivating over him’,” Rose said, doing air quotes to emphasize that she was in fact not already enamored by him. Nope. Not at all. However, as she talked to her sister, she kept an eye on the room trying to spot him among all of the people. But he had been lost in the crowds.

“Whatever you say,” Maria said, smiling. “But if you like him, you better take your chance before someone else does. Y’know if more girls knew he was in the service, they’d be all over him.” 

Rose considered the comment. Maria was right. At the moment, just about every girl in town was either already with a man from the military or looking for one. 

“I guess it’s a good thing more girls don’t know then,” she told her sister.

They talked for a little while longer before Charlie came over with glasses of punch for him and Maria.

“Hey Rose,” he said. “You want me to go back and get you something to drink?”

“Oh, no thank you,” she replied. “I appreciate it though.”

Rose always liked how considerate Charlie was about not leaving her out. He didn’t just focus on her sister whenever he was with their family. Maria was lucky to have him. 

Rose was hit with another twinge of sadness, wishing she had someone like that in her own life. Someone who loved her and her family too. Someone that made her feel safe and included no matter what. Her thoughts drifted back to Eugene but she pushed them away for the moment. She didn’t want to get caught up in her emotions for someone she’d only just met.

She talked with Maria and Charlie for a little while before heading off to see if she could find anymore friends she hadn’t seen yet. Rose was always considered quite outgoing and Mobile was a small southern town so she knew a lot of people. She honestly wondered how she hadn’t met Eugene before tonight. But even with her charisma and friendly attitude, she didn’t have very many close people in her life other than her family. It was easy for her to start conversations and be sociable when she wanted to. But being close enough to someone and showing all of her vulnerabilities was something different. 

Something a lot more difficult. 

Rose had been staring off into space so long she almost didn’t notice the man she’d been trying to watch for. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts as she saw Eugene across the room. He was leaned back against one of the walls just watching everyone else dance. Then he stood up from the wall and started to make his way through the crowd in the direction of the doors.

Rose decided she wasn’t going to let him leave without having any fun and started to go after him. As she caught up with him, she noticed him pull a pipe from the breast pocket of his suit jacket. She decided she would ask him about it later if she got the chance.

“Hey, Eugene!” Rose yelled to him before he made it to the doors. 

He stopped and turned around, looking a little surprised that she had cared to stop him. 

“I never got that dance,” she said while trying to catch her breath. 

Eugene looked even more taken aback that she had been serious about the dance proposal. Before he could say anything, she went to grab his hand but in his surprise he pulled away from her. Rose’s face fell at his reaction. 

“God, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. You don’t have to dance if you don’t want to. It was just an offer if you were interested,” she apologized. She mentally hit herself. The last thing she wanted was to make the really cute guy she had just met uncomfortable.

“No, no. It’s okay,” he said, smiling softly. “Just wasn’t expecting it. I’d actually really like to dance with you too. If you’re alright with having a partner that can’t dance that is.”

They both laughed and any tension cleared immediately. Rose held out her hand to Eugene instead of just grabbing his this time. 

“May I?” She asked.

Eugene let out a small laugh before taking her hand gently so she could lead him to the dance floor. They made it back to where everyone was dancing and stood in front of each other for a moment. Then Rose took Eugene’s hand again. She put her other hand on his shoulder and he put his on her waist. They started swaying slightly to the beat of whatever song was playing. It took some getting used to but eventually they fell into a nice rhythm. 

“So why were you so surprised I came back?” Rose asked.

“I guess I just didn’t think you’d really be interested,” Eugene said.

Rose’s eyebrows furrowed as she wondered what made him think she might dislike him. 

“Well I am,” she reassured him. Eugene gave her a small smile but still looked unsure. Rose decided not to say anything so she wouldn’t make him feel anymore uneasy. She didn’t want to be too forward but she knew she at least wanted to get to know him better. 

They continued dancing for a while, just moving to the sounds of the songs that played and occasionally talking.

Neither of them knew when they had moved closer to each other but now Rose’s arms were around Eugene’s neck and both of his were holding her waist. There was only a small space between them. Eugene used the close proximity as a chance to take a better look at Rose’s eyes. They were a soft light green, almost gray. They shined brightly as she looked back at him. Maybe it was the lighting but he wanted to think her eyes always glowed like they did right now.

He started thinking about all that’s happened in the last few years of his life. His flashbacks had been bad and didn’t seem to be getting any better. Physically, he was home. But sometimes mentally, it felt like he was still on some island in the middle of nowhere fighting just to survive. He’d only known Rose for a little while but he knew she didn’t deserve a friend, or something more, that had all the baggage he carried. She deserved to keep that brightness in her eyes, not to be with someone who had lost the brightness in theirs.

Rose could feel Eugene tense up and wondered if the closeness between them had made him feel awkward.

“We don’t have to dance this close if you don’t want to,” she said. But she felt a twinge of disappointment as he let go of the gentle grip he had on her waist.

“No, no, it’s not the dancing,” he tried to explain. “I uh, I just need to go. I’m sorry.”

And just like that the moment was over and Eugene was heading out the door again. Rose was worried about what made him leave so suddenly so she ran after him as fast as she was able to in heels. When she got outside, she looked around frantically until she spotted him. He was standing by the set of steps that led up to the large house the party was in. There were other guests scattered all over the place. Some getting in cars to leave early or just having drinks and talking. But Rose didn’t notice them as she made a beeline towards Eugene. At this point he was already smoking the pipe she’d seen earlier.

“Hey, I don’t know why you left, but I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” she explained through heavy breaths from trying to catch up with him. 

“I promise it wasn’t about you,” Eugene started. He took the pipe out of his mouth and put it back in his pocket. 

“Trust me, I was having a great time. It’s just…” he trailed off. 

How did he tell her he didn’t want to get too attached to someone who seemed so lovely when scenes of all the terrible things he did kept replaying in his head?

“It’s just what?” Rose asked. She didn’t ask like she was demanding an answer for herself. She was asking out of concern for him. 

Eugene hesitated.

“We can go somewhere more private, if you want,” Rose said. She immediately realized how that had sounded.

“Wait! No. I didn’t mean it like that! I mean we could go somewhere and talk if you want to,” she explained.

Eugene laughed a little at her panic from the accidental insinuation.

“Yeah we can just go for a walk or something,” he said.

“Sure,” Rose replied and they set off down the gravel sidewalk away from the party.

After they made it a little ways from the building, Eugene began talking.

“I think you’re really nice,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t notice his cheeks turning pink. She did.

“Well, thank you. I think you’re really nice too, Eugene,” Rose said. She looked at him and smiled but he wasn’t smiling back and he couldn’t meet her eyes. Her smile dropped at his next words.

“And I keep thinking ‘God, why the hell am I even here right now? I didn’t deserve to live anymore than some of my buddies did and yet I’m here and they aren’t.’ I feel like there’s no reason for you to want to dance with me or even talk to me. I don’t deserve to be back. I don’t deserve to be dancing with you,” he said. There was a far off look in his eyes. Rose could see in those eyes so much pain and guilt. But she saw a beauty in them too. They were eyes of honey and autumn leaves; and she could see that they still held the hope of a young boy just wanting to protect his country. And she wasn’t about to let Eugene forget that young boy.

“Eugene Sledge,” she said. “I may have only met you tonight but you are one of the kindest, gentlest people I’ve ever met. I know you did some terrible things that you want to forget. But you just wanted the chance to help, just like every other man that was there. And their lives were just as important as yours but that does not mean that you don’t deserve to be here. You do. Just because they didn’t make it out doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have either. And hell, I think you deserve to have a nice time at a party and dance if you want to.”

Eugene had to take a second to compose himself because Rose’s words had nearly brought him to tears. He didn’t know how someone he just met could care so much but he knew he would try to remember what she’d told him.

“Thank you,” was all he said as he finally made eye contact with her.

For now, that distant look seemed to fade away and Rose smiled at him again. This time he smiled back.


	3. Chapter 3

It was now weeks after the ball and Rose hadn’t stopped thinking about Eugene. She cursed her forgetfulness for not asking where he lived so she could send him a letter. She decided she’d ask the postman next time he came around since they were pretty good friends.

The next day, she saw him walking down the street, stopping to deliver mail to each resident. Now that Rose was seeing him again, she realized he and Eugene kind of looked alike. 

When he made it to her mailbox she ran down the sidewalk to greet him as she often did. 

“Hey Gardner!” She yelled.

Gardner looked up from her mailbox and waved to her.

“Hi, Rose,” he said. If you didn’t know him well enough you might think he was grumpy most of time but Rose knew better.

“Can I ask you something?” She asked.

“Sure,” Gardner replied.

“I was wondering about someone you might have on your route. His name’s Eugene Sledge? I wanted to ask if you could give me his address because I wanted to send him something,” Rose explained. Now that she was saying it out loud she realized it sounded a bit ridiculous. She didn’t even know if he was on Gardner’s route.

“I’m sorry I can’t give personal information about customers to other customers,” Gardner said.

Rose remembered how responsible he was about following the rules and the manual.

“That’s alright,” she said. “I was just wondering. Don’t worry about it.” 

She smiled reassuringly at him. He gave a small smile back, waved bye, and walked onto his next stop.

How was she going to get in touch with Eugene now?

She collected her family’s mail and walked back up the long driveway to their house, trying to think of any neighbors she could ask about him.

A few hours passed and Rose had something else on her mind for the first time in weeks. She’d been talking to her parents about life plans. Rose was twenty one now and they both thought it was important that she start thinking about her future. However, going to college was not the answer they’d hoped for when they asked her what she wanted to do.

“Honey, wouldn’t you rather settle down with someone who can take care of you?” Her mother asked. She had a sad look on her face like she was disappointed.

“Momma I don’t need someone to take care of me. I can do that myself. I can go to school and get a job,” Rose replied, exasperated.

“Sweetie, your mother’s right,” her father interjected. “You wouldn’t have to work a day in your life.”

His response came as a shock to Rose. She always saw her father as more progressive than most of the men of her time. But now, here he was saying she should just get married and give up the rest of her life.

“I can’t believe you guys won’t just support me!” She said. “I want to do more with my life than stay home and cook and clean or take care of kids.”

Her mother opened her mouth to say something but didn’t get the chance before Rose stomped out of the room.

Rose ran upstairs to her and Maria’s room. She quickly put on a pair of shoes and rushed back downstairs and out the front door. She didn’t know where she was going. She just wanted to get away for a little while. 

She walked down back roads until she came across an open clearing. It was full of tall grass and wildflowers. More importantly, she noticed a familiar figure laying in the middle, reading a book.

She slowly walked closer, trying to make sure her brain wasn’t tricking her. And it wasn’t. Eugene was right there in the field.

Rose wiped the tears off her face quickly. She didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of the man she had been trying to find for weeks.

In between rubbing her eyes, she saw him stand up like he was about to leave. She always seemed to be calling after him when she saw him.

“Eugene!” She yelled.

He turned around, surprised to find he wasn’t alone in the field anymore.

“Rose?” He yelled back.

There was still some distance between them and he wasn’t sure it was her at first.

She ran farther into the clearing towards him.

“Y’know it’s a lot harder than you might think to find someone in such a small town,” she said once she made it to him. It was as if just being in Eugene’s presence had made Rose forget about all that had been making her upset before.

“You were trying to find me?” he asked. His eyebrows were raised and his eyes widened. He was flattered and a little surprised.

“Well not at this exact moment,” Rose said. “But I was hoping I’d see you again soon.” 

“I was hoping to see you too,” he said, now smiling. 

He sat back down on the grass and patted the spot next to him, inviting her to sit with him. The spot was flatter than the rest of the grass around them. Rose guessed he must come here a lot. She sat down beside him, not bothering to protect her skirt from the dirt.

“So is this like your spot or something?” Rose asked, turning to face Eugene.

“Something like that,” he replied. “I come out here whenever I need to think or just get away from things for a little while.”

“Do you mind if I join you? That’s exactly what I need right now,” Rose said.

“Sure. I don’t mind spending time out here with a pretty girl I’ve been wanting to see,” Eugene said with a playful grin.

Rose put a hand up to her face to try and hide the sudden flushing of her cheeks.

“Thank you. For the compliment and for letting me stay,” she said.

“So what is it you needed to get away from? If you don’t mind me asking,” Eugene asked.

“My family,” Rose said. “I got into a fight with my parents.” She looked down, picking at the grass in front of her.

“Gosh I’m sorry,” Eugene said. “What was it about?”

“I had been thinking lately about what I wanted to do with my life. I don’t want to waste away as a housewife in the same town I’ve been in my whole life. So I figured I could go to college.”

Eugene nodded understandingly even though she couldn’t see him as her eyes were still glued to the ground in front of her.

“But when I told my parents, they didn’t approve. My mama’s been trying to set me up with someone for ages and she didn’t like the idea of me going off on my own. And apparently my dad is a lot more misogynistic than I thought because he doesn’t think a woman needs an education. They just don’t understand that the world is changing and I can be independent if I want to.”

Rose hadn’t noticed the tears building back up in her eyes until she was finished talking. 

“Hey, don’t cry,” Eugene said. “You’re an adult. You don’t have to listen to them. If you want to go out and get an education and a good job you should do it!”

“Thanks,” Rose said as she wiped her eyes. “ But they’re my parents. I can’t just go against them.”

“I know how you feel,” Eugene said. “There have been times that what my parents wanted and what I wanted didn’t line up. But in the end you have to do what you think is best for you and eventually they’ll come around.” 

Rose finally looked back up at him. He had a sincere look of conviction on his face. How could someone she barely knew seem to care so much? She didn’t want to worry him with her issues any longer than she had to so she decided to move the focus back to him.

“Thanks. I’m sorry if I’m bothering you. Let’s talk about you. What do you think you want to do?” She asked.

“You’re not bothering me. I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Eugene said.

“I’ll be alright,” Rose said. “Really though, do you have any future plans?”

Eugene looked around for a moment like he was trying to find something good to say.

“I’ll be honest I haven’t really thought about it much,” he said. “I’ll probably go to school too but for now my plans are to just do nothing.”

“Well from what I’ve seen you seem pretty smart.” Rose said.

You’re also just pretty. She thought.

“I’m sure when you’re ready you could get any sort of education you wanted.” 

He blushed a little at her compliment and smiled.

“Thanks. You seem pretty smart yourself.”

Rose smiled back at him. Once again, being with Eugene just seemed to make her feel better.

“So what kind of stuff do you like to do?” Eugene asked, wanting to get to know her better and not wanting to let the conversation end.

“I like to draw and do photography,” she said. “You know, just anything artsy. I also have a stamp collection. It’s got some pretty rare ones.”

“That’s cool. You’ll have to show me sometime,” Eugene replied.

“What about you?” Rose asked. She looked fine but on the inside she was jumping with excitement at the prospect of getting to hang out with Eugene again.

“I like to read,” he held up the book he was holding, “and I’m thinking about taking up bird watching. My father thought it would be a good idea.”

“Oh that sounds fun. Maybe I can join you someday,” Rose suggested.

“That’d be nice,” Eugene replied. “There’s some woods by my family’s house that have a bunch of ‘em.”

For the next couple of hours, the two talked about their lives and interests, finally properly getting to know one another. Both of them were able to forget about whatever was troubling them and just enjoy each other’s company. 

The sun ,eventually, started to set. It gave everything a golden glow as the rays peeked through the branches of the trees. A light breeze had picked up making the grass and wildflowers sway gently. Eugene’s hair looked redder than ever in the light.

He noticed Rose starting to rub her hands up and down her arms.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

“A little. I don’t handle cool weather that well I guess,” she said.

Eugene started to take off his jacket. Once it was removed, he handed it to Rose. She took it with a confused look on her face.

“You can wear it…y-y’know so you don’t get cold,” Eugene said.

Rose started smiling and quickly put the jacket on.

Eugene blushed at the sight of her wearing it.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“It suits you,” he replied.

Eugene glanced at his watch and was reminded of the time.

“It’s getting pretty late,” he said. “I guess we should probably go home.” He said it slowly like he wanted to prolong their time together as long as possible. Rose’s smile dropped from her face. But she knew they couldn’t just stay out in a field all night so she stood up with him.

“How about I walk you home?” Eugene asked. 

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Rose said.

As they walked back towards Rose’s house, they talked more. Eventually they arrived at the mailbox at the end of her home’s driveway.

“Oh, by the way, can I have your address?” Rose asked. “I wanted to send you a letter but my mail carrier’s real serious about his job and wouldn’t tell me anything.”

“Oh sure,” Eugene said. He told her his address. “I guess I know yours now so I could send you something.”

“Yeah, that would be nice,” Rose said.

They said their goodbyes, at least for now, and headed their separate ways. Rose walked back up to her house, feeling much better and still wearing Eugene’s jacket.


End file.
